Two More Champions Decided at NCHA Eastern Nationals

Page Bowman rode Tom E Boy to the $25,000 Novice Non-Pro Championship at the NCHA Eastern Nationals.At the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Eastern Nationals, held March 6-17 in Jackson, Mississippi, Page Bowman and Tom E Boy marked a 222 as the first pair to work in the second set of the $25,000 Novice Non-Pro finals, winning the Championship.

Tom E Boy is a 7-year-old homebred gelding by Thomas E Hughes and out of the Smart Sugar Badger mare Snazzy Sugar Badger.

“We bred and raised Tom E Boy,” Bowman said. “He’s out of one of our homebred mares. His mother was never shown due to an injury, but her full sister won close to $200,000. We’re pretty proud of him.”

Bowman had a fresh set of cattle in the finals, giving her a whole herd to choose from, but it had its drawbacks.

“I was a little nervous because being first on these cattle is pretty tough,” Bowman said. “Cullen Chartier settled my cows really well, and they actually worked really well. Everything went good, and they stayed back. The first set was a really bad set of cows, so I was kind of nervous. I didn’t know what they were going to be like.”

Tom E Boy, who is known as “Tommy” at the barn, is owned by Bowman’s parents, Mike and Libby, of Simpsonville, Kentucky.

“This year, I’m hauling in the Non-Pro,” Bowman said. “My two main horses are Tom E Boy and Big Daddys CD. I’ve been mostly showing Big Daddys CD this year in the Non-Pro, but after Tommy’s been so good here, he’s going to get some more hauling time.”

$5,000 Novice/Non-Pro

On March 15, Ashley Davis and CDs Pepto Gal (High Brow CD x Little Pepto Gal x Peptoboonsmal) bested a field of 26 in the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro finals with a 214.

“It started off really fast,” Davis said of her run. “We knew the cows we wanted to go in there and cut. The first one we cut just like we had planned, and it was a lot faster than I expected. I went back in there, and I couldn’t find my second cow, so we just cut a little shape. It ended up working out, and I cut it to the buzzer.”

Davis purchased the 7-year-old mare, nicknamed “Nan,” last year from Paul and Julie Hansma.

“This is literally – we counted it up – my sixth run on her,” Davis said. “I know she came from a great program, and I’ve pretty much bought all my horses from them. I seem to get along well with them, so we’re going to continue that.”